I Got Your Plate!

We attended my friend's memorial service on Friday!! It was such a beautiful celebration of life!!  It was wonderful to see friends from far away and to enjoy a few minutes of time together.  Truth be told, we really only had time to give our dear friends a quick hug.  Even though they had food and a gathering time, for more than an hour after the services, the church was so full and there were so many people who wanted to speak with my friend, she was thronged the entire night.  I didn't even see her sit down.  She was mingling in and out of the people.  She truly is a servant of Christ.  She wanted everyone to feel loved and cherished and she spent the time circling the room when she was the one who we were gathered there to support.

It was beautiful to watch, but I knew she would be wiped out at the end.  As I watched, I just decided that I would write her a little note to tell her of my love and support.  I couldn't find any paper so I just chose to write my note on a dessert plate.  Then I found her stuff and tucked it into it.  I just figured she would read it when she was about ready to go home and she could think and feel without worrying too much about everyone else.

I knew her plans were to leave the next morning and go to San Francisco and have another celebration of life with her friends there.  And then they would be travelling back to their new home in Michigan.  It was going to be a crazy week for her.

Anyway, after the celebration we went home.  I didn't bring everyone to the memorial because some of us are little and would have had difficulty sitting still and my van was in the shop, so we didn't have enough seat belts to take everyone.  So when I arrived home, I still had a house full of hungry people.  We started making dinner.

We had been home for about two hours when the doorbell rang.  "Who is that?" the kids asked.  I didn't have any idea.

As I opened the door, my dear friend who had just celebrated her dear companion's life, held out her arms and said, "I got your plate!" and then we hugged and she came in and just sat and visited with our family for an hour.  It was super sweet!!  I will forever remember that.....I got your plate!

NOT my note, just a web image.....

At the little gathering afterward, my pediatrician approached me to say hello.  We haven't been into his office for a few years because Spike Spike is getting old enough and his asthma is under control enough that we have not needed to see him.  It was wonderful to have him seek me out to visit with me outside of the office.  I love that part of small town living.  I really, really do!!  It was obvious that he takes his job seriously.  He is more about the whole person and less about his career and practice, though those things are important.

He actually expressed that he is postponing his retirement because he is the only one in his office that will take on-call time from the hospital!!  I was dumb-founded!  The younger docs won't do it and some of the older ones won't either.  'I understand' he said, 'They want family time too.  But I think our community expects that kind of service to be available.'  My heart melted!!

I was so grateful to him!  I expect it too, but had no idea that one man is holding down the fort in that department here in our community and is willing to make that much of a sacrifice because 'nobody else will do it.'

To be honest, that is who my friend is too.  He was that kind of a man--Brian Craig.

One night, we had company over for family home evening.  Things got a little wild with Spike.  He was about two, I think.  Anyway, he was spinning in circles in the family room like little kids do.  Then he lost his balance, because he was dizzy, hit his head on the fireplace and gashed his head open.  It was bleeding a lot!

We put on the pressure but I could tell he would need stitches.  It was in the evening (8 p.m.).  Urgent care was closed and I knew the emergency room would take about five hours before they would even see my baby.  Great!!  I called Dr. Craig's house.  His wife, my friend, answered the phone.  I told her what had happened.  She said bring him right over.

We got there and she opened up the door.  Dr. Craig met us in the kitchen---in his bathrobe!  They had cleaned off the kitchen table and told me to lay him on it.  Brian looked at Spike's head.  Yep, he needed a couple of stitches.  Dr. Craig fixed him up right there, in his bathrobe!  We were done in 15 minutes!  Yea for small towns and great friends!!

I will miss you my friend!!  Thank you for your service---you and the rest of your 'old guard'---the men and women who take their oath seriously and then practice the goodness and virtue that led them to that profession in the first place!!

I love my doctors!!